


Promises In The Dark

by WandaRavenBlack



Series: Bad Things Happen - Dick Grayson [6]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Angry Jason Todd, Beating, Electricity, Hurt Dick Grayson, Muteness, Protective Damian Wayne, Protective Dick Grayson, Protective Jason, Sad Harleen Quinzel, Torture, Waterboarding, Whipping, crowbar - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 10:21:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20928626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandaRavenBlack/pseuds/WandaRavenBlack
Summary: BETRAYALDick and Harley get captured together and spend over a month in captivity, having only each other to rely on. How will this unlikely friendship change once they get rescued?





	Promises In The Dark

Dick sighed, as he drove the car through Gotham’s busy streets. In the backseat, Harley Quinn was sitting and sulking, her hands in handcuffs behind her back. Since Batman and Robin had been forced to go on patrol a bit earlier than planned, he had been assigned the task of getting a freshly caught Harley to the prison. The young woman hadn’t exactly done anything to make him irritated, but he had been restless before getting the task and had hoped to blow off some steam on the patrol. Instead, he was stuck in traffic. Thinking about the city’s layout from above, he quickly turned the wheel and drove into a back alley. If he was correct, he had to turn right into another alley and then left into a third one, only to come out not far from the Asylum. If he was quick with this, he might even be able to go out on patrol that night. He heard Harley sit up a bit more straight in the backseat, but ignored her. After a few minutes of driving, the car was suddenly enveloped by thick smoke. He stopped it and pulled out his sticks. 

“Stay here and don’t even think about getting out.” 

And he jumped out of the car, keeping his ears open for any sound of movement. But, before he could find anything, he felt something hit him in the neck. He quickly pulled out the dart and had enough time to send out a distress signal, before everything became black and he fell to the ground. 

********

When he woke up, he was sitting in a basement. His sticks, gloves, boots and belt had been taken away, leaving him with no weapons. But he wasn’t bound. A small relief in this situation. He looked around and his eyes widened when he noticed Harley sitting curled up on the floor in the corner. She had a few scratches on her arms, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Her hair was let out of the pigtails and slightly messy. She noticed that he had woken up, and sat a little straighter. 

“Finally. I was starting to get bored.” 

He rolled his eyes and sat up with a groan. Everything hurt as if he had gotten a beating. Which he hadn’t. Not as far as he could remember at least. 

“Are you alright?” 

She snorted slightly at his question. 

“Of course I’m alright.” 

She was going to say something more, but was cut off by the door opening. Twelve men went inside, their guns pointed at the captives’ heads. 

“Well, well, well. What do we have here. Batman’s bird and Joker’s whore.” 

“Don’t call her that.” 

The words left his mouth automatically. He had heard so many women be called that in the circus, that he had developed an automatic response to it. The man turned to him. 

“Keep your mouth shut, kid. Or I’ll sew it shut.” 

Dick nodded and the man turned his attention back to Harley. 

“Now, sweetheart. Why don’t you take your clothes off and give us a little performance. If you’re good, we might even fuck you as a reward."

Harley’s eyes widened and Dick suddenly felt a connection to her. Even though everyone knew that Harley Quinn was not afraid to use her body to get to her goals, just as he didn’t hesitate to flirt to get into places, there were limits. Getting fucked by twelve men was a hard no. He stood up, all the guns turning to him. 

“Get away from her.” 

He was slightly surprised himself at the dangerous tone that had appeared in his voice, but he didn’t dwell on it. The man turned to him once again, and took a few steps in his direction. 

“You really can’t shut up, can you. What? You’d rather give us some entertainment instead of her?” 

‘Instead of her’? It couldn’t mean… Were they really going to… But then he chased all his hesitation away. Better him than her. 

“Sure. If you’ll leave her alone, I’m game.” 

The man smirked and nodded. Seconds later, ten men were beating him up, making sure to cover every inch of his body with bruises. He tried to kick one of them, but it just ended in a twisted ankle. Their leader was standing a few steps away, just watching, while the last man was holding a screaming Harley away from the fight. After what felt like an eternity, the man made a hand movement, and the beating stopped. Dick laid on the floor, in too much pain to even think about moving. 

“I think that’s enough for today. We’ll see if you’ll be as eager to take her place tomorrow too.” 

And they left, dropping Harley onto the floor. She moved over to him quickly and hesitated, clearly not knowing how to touch him to not cause him any more pain. Then, as gently as she could, she helped him move to the corner and sat down so that he could put his head in her lap. Very gently, she stroked his hair, humming softly. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and looked at her. He was grateful that they had avoided hitting his face. 

“Hey.” 

She looked down at him and smiled softly. 

“Hey.” 

Silence stretched over them, in which Dick let his thoughts wander. This was a completely new side of Harley Quinn that he hadn’t seen before. He actually doubted anyone had seen it before. Was this the way she had been before the Joker? 

“Why?” 

Her quiet question pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked up at her with a frown, so she elaborated. 

“Why did you do that?” 

Dick sighed deeply, and then regretted it when he felt pain in his chest. Wincing, he answered slowly: 

“Because no one should have to go through that. Because you don’t deserve it.” 

Her eyes widened, before she closed them. 

“This might be the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.” 

He left her statement without a comment, knowing that she didn’t want any. They fell asleep like that. Her sitting in the corner with his head on her lap, his body stretched out on the floor, her hand in his hair. 

*********

The next day, history repeated itself. The man went in and gave Harley the proposition. Before she could speak, Dick stood up and offered himself instead. They left him with at least one rib cracked and a dislocated shoulder. Harley popped it back into place, before dragging him back to their corner. The next few days were identical. On day five, they started to use knives. That day, Harley had done her best to clean his wounds using a torn off bit of her skirt, before taking him back to their corner. They didn’t speak about anything important. No. That was for the outside world. That was for Nightwing and Harley Quinn. Here they were just two people who needed comfort. Both of them waiting and hoping for someone to find them, realizing that if the other person’s savior came, they would be in trouble. Dick told her about the circus and she listened with an open mouth. Harley told him stories from her childhood and he fell asleep to her calm voice. On day nine, he got whipped. Three men had to restrain Harley from coming to his aid as he finally screamed, something he had refused to do earlier. That night, she told him about her family. In return, he told her about his parents. On day fourteen, they waterboarded him for two hours. Only the fact that he had trained with Kaldur how to hold his breath saved him from inhaling the water. Harley used the blanket they had been given to dry him off and then talked about all her embarrassing crushes until he fell asleep with a smile on his face, thinking about how she had a crush on both Batman and Bruce. On day seventeen, they whipped him again, this time with a barbed wire. Harley almost ripped one man’s ear off as he was restaining her. Later, as she was using the old blanket to gently wipe off the blood off his back, he told her about his brothers, hesitating when talking about Jason. She told him she was sorry, he told her it wasn’t her fault. Because it wasn’t. Not even Jason himself blamed Harley Quinn for his death. On day twenty one, they whipped his feet with a cane until he screamed. That night, she told him about all the pets she ever had, and he fell asleep thinking about Damian. They never talked about when they would get rescued, but both of them thought about it. About why it was taking so long time. On day twenty six, they put him in an electric collar and kept shocking him until he had burns around his neck. Then they took it off and left him shaking on the floor. He had trouble speaking, so Harley talked about her friendship with Poison Ivy. On day thirty two, they carved out patterns on his arms, making sure to not hit any major arteries. Harley sang for him, while ripping the dirty blanket into pieces and bandaging his arms. On day thirty seven, they heard screaming on the other side of the door and froze. In some way they were scared that it might be the rescue. Neither of them knew what would happen if they were found together. Harley was the first one to speak. 

“If it’s the Bat, will you let him take me away?” 

He looked into her big eyes and shook his head. After all she had done for him, after how close they had gotten, he wouldn’t be able to put her in prison again. And he wouldn’t let Bruce do it either. 

“And if it’s the Joker?” 

She shook her head with determination. 

“He won’t touch you.” 

He smiled at that. He liked this version of her. This sane Harley Quinn. The door opened and they both held their breath, not knowing who would be on the other side. Harley let out a shriek when she saw Joker standing in the doorway. She shot up and rushed over to him. 

“Puddin!” 

He let her hug him briefly, before turning his head to Dick. They young man stayed on the floor. He trusted Harley to keep her word. They had gotten close, after all. They were friends. 

“Well, well, well. A broken bird. I’m slightly disappointed that I wasn’t the one to break you. But, I’ll at least get the pleasure to kill you.” 

Harley purred from where she was hanging onto his arm. Dick looked at her with questioning eyes. She just smiled in return. But it wasn’t one of the warm smiles he had grown used to. No. It was a crazy smile that he had learned to associate with Joker’s sidekick. 

“Kept him alive just for you, puddin.” 

Joker kissed her on the cheek, before pulling out a crowbar that he had been keeping behind his back and walking closer to him. Dick looked at Harley again, but all he saw in her eyes was madness. She was gone. His friend was gone. He closed his eyes, letting out a scream as the first hit fell. Two more hits and then Harley shrieked again, this time in fear. He opened his eyes, only to see Bruce beating up Joker, while Red Robin was apprehending Harley. Damian ran over to him, his eyes wide open when he took in the extent of his injuries. 

“Richard?” 

His voice was a whisper, but Dick didn’t react to it. His eyes were on Harley, who was now in handcuffs. Tim walked over to him and asked him something, but he didn’t understand the words. Nothing made sense anymore. 

“Batman!” 

Bruce landed one last hit to Joker’s face, knocking him out, before he hurried over to his sons. Gently, he moved Damian out of the way and crouched down in front of Dick. 

“Dick?” 

The young man didn’t respond. Bruce tried again, then one more time. Still no answer. Dick just stared away into the distance, remembering the warm smile and a soft lullaby. With a sigh, Bruce lifted him up into his arms and turned to Tim. 

“Lock them in here. GCPD will be here soon to pick them up.” 

And he walked out, carrying his first son in his arms. 

*********

Five weeks later, Dick was mostly healed. Some of the deeper wounds were still closing up, but he was physically fine. Mentally, was another thing. During the five weeks, he had not spoken to anyone. He ate when they told him to, slept when they told him to and moved when they told him to. But, other than that, he just stared at whatever was straight in front of him. For the first week, Bruce had wanted to give him some space, so he kept outsiders out of the home. The second week, he had allowed Wally into the mansion, but it hadn’t helped. The third week, he invited the rest of Young Justice. Still nothing. The teenagers came and went, and Dick stayed the same. The fourth week, he asked the Justice League to come in, hoping that the people Dick had dubbed his aunts and uncles would help. But nothing happened other than Diana leaving almost in tears when nothing she did worked on Dick. Somewhere in the middle of week five, he had gotten his hands on the recordings of what had happened in the basement. He spent the next few days glued to the screen. He skipped the tortures and beatings, concentrating on Dick’s developing friendship with Harley Quinn. When he heard their last promises before Joker came in, he realized what the problem was. He changed into normal clothes and went to the kitchen, where Alfred had served dinner. He watched as Damian put food on Dick’s plate and told him to eat. The young boy had taken time off from school, to stay home with Dick. And, as they had noticed, he was the only one who could get a reaction out of Dick. Even if it was just something as small as a twitch of his fingers or a head tilt at the right point, it was still better than the statuelike pose he otherwise had. Bruce started eating slowly, before looking up to Dick again. 

“Dick.” 

The young man didn’t even acknowledge him, but the way he slowed down his eating, told them he was listening. 

“I’m going to Arkham Asylum tonight. Would you like to come with me? You could visit Harley.” 

He had predicted a reaction to that name, but not as violent as he got. Dick flew up from the table, suddenly throwing everything that was within his reach, until Jason rushed around the table and pinned his arms to his sides, murmuring calming words into his ear. That was another thing that had changed. Ever since he found out what had happened to Dick, Jason had moved back to the mansion and spent as much time with his brother as possible, having made a temporary truce with Damian. Everyone in the room glared at him, but he just pressed on. 

“I think it would be good for you to see her.” 

Dick struggled a bit more in Jason’s arms, before going limp and hanging his head. All the time, he didn’t make one single sound, except for heavy breathing. 

“Alfred. Could you take Dick to his room?” 

The old butler nodded to Damian and gently grabbed Dick’s wrist. Seeing that all the fight had left him, Jason let him go, and the young man followed Alfred without a word. As soon as they were out the door, Jason rounded in on Bruce. 

“What the hell are you thinking?! He could have hurt someone! Or worse, himself!”

Bruce sighed. 

“Sit down, Jason, and I’ll explain.” 

Reluctantly, Jason flopped down into Dick’s abandoned chair and listened as Bruce explained about the promise. At the end, Tim tilted his head. 

“So this is just a reaction to what he sees as betrayal?” 

Bruce nodded. 

“Yes. Everyone handles it differently. Jason went on a killing spree when I didn’t kill the Joker. Dick seems to close himself off from the world.” 

“And you think talking to Quinn will help him, father?” 

Damian’s voice was quiet, thoughtful. Bruce nodded again. 

“Alright.” 

The boy stood up. 

“I’ll convince him to go with you tonight. But you better be right about this.” 

And he marched out of the kitchen. He walked into Dick’s room without knocking, knowing that the young man would not attack. As he suspected, Dick was sitting on the bed, staring at the wall. 

“Richard. Listen to me. I think you should go with father tonight. It might do you some good. And if not, at least you’ll get an explanation.” 

Very slowly, Dick turned his head to him, his eyes still somewhere far away. Then he nodded slightly and Damian smiled. Two hours later, he was standing in front of the doors to Arkham Asylum, dressed in his Nightwing suit. Bruce led him through a few corridors, until they got to a cell. Very slowly, Bruce opened it and nodded. Dick went inside, his eyes immediately focusing on the woman in there. She sat up on the bed slowly, her head tilted. 

“What…?” 

He cut her off, his voice rough from not being used for so long. 

“Why?” 

She sighed and stood up. 

“You know why. Or at least I hope you know.” 

He frowned. 

“You’re not you.” 

She nodded, a small smile appearing on her lips. 

“I’m never me when I’m with him.” 

He moved forwards quickly, pulling her into a hug and burying his face in her shoulder. She put her hand in his hair and stroked it. 

“I’m sorry.” 

He nodded. 

“Me too.”

After a few minutes, she led him to the bed, where he laid down with his head in her lap. For two hours, she kept telling him about all her embarrassing moments, while Bruce watched silently from the shadows. When she ran out of stories, he stepped in again. 

“Dick. We have to go.” 

He looked at him with sadness, but nodded and stood up. Harley grabbed his hand in the doorway and smiled. 

“You’ll be back tomorrow?” 

He glanced at Bruce and nodded when the Bat told him yes. After sending the young man to the car, he went into the cell, Harley looking at him with sadness. It was odd, seeing this sane version of her. 

“If you’d want to, I could see what could be done to get you away from him. You could start a new life. With us.” 

She looked at him with big eyes, before nodding slowly. 

“I’d like that. I want to make it up to him.” 

As he drove back to the mansion, Bruce smiled slightly. His oldest son was a former circus performer who liked hanging off of chandeliers and setting the kitchen on fire, Jason was a criminal who would fight them on a bad day and watch movies with them on a good one, Tim was an insomniac who sometimes seemed to run purely on coffee, and Damian had a habit of bringing odd animals home and threatening everyone who argued with him. So what was another crazy child? Especially since he realized that Harley couldn’t be much older than Dick. A month later, he knew he had made the right choice, as he walked into the living room after a patrol and was met with a sight of his entire family in one place. Dick had his head in Harley’s lap, her hand in his hair. Damian was curled up on her other side, hugging Alfred the cat. Jason was sprawled on the floor, drool in the corner of his lips, while Tim was asleep on the couch, his head hanging off the edge. Bruce smiled, as he moved to cover his children with blankets, and lifting Tim’s head back up onto the couch. Harley’s eyes blinked open for a few seconds, before she fell asleep again, pulling Damian closer to herself, the boy snuggling into her side. 


End file.
